The latest results from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) have been released, offering a detailed look at the UK’s eating habits between 2019 and 2023. This government-backed study tracks food consumption, nutrient intake, and health trends across different age groups.
Let’s dive into the verified findings and what they reveal about the nation’s diet.
1. Fruit and Vegetable Intake: Still Below Recommendations
Despite the long-standing “5-a-day” campaign, most people still fall short:
- Only 17% of adults met the five-a-day target.
- Just 9% of 11- to 18-year-olds achieved the recommended intake.
- Average consumption was 3.5 portions for adults and 2.8 for teenagers, showing minimal progress from previous years.
Why it matters: A low intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with an increased risk of numerous conditions, including cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Equally, diets low in fruits and vegetables tend to be more calorie dense, leading to an increased risk of obesity. Equally, diets lower in fruits and vegetables are lower in non-nutritive compounds, like fibre, polyphenols, anthocyanins and other antioxidants- all of which are associated with a reduced risk of disease.
2. Sugar Consumption: Small Decline, But Still Too High
There’s been a slight reduction, but sugar intake remains excessive:
- Children (4-10 years) get 10.2% of daily calories from free sugars (recommended: ≤5%).
- Teenagers (11-18) consume 11.5%, while adults average 10.4%.
- Cereals and cereal products provide the bulk of this additional sugar (between 29-40%), however most of this category did not come from cereals themselves, but the subgroup “buns, cakes, pastries and fruit pies”.
Key concern: High sugar intake is associated with an increased caloric density of diets, potentially leading to an increased risk of obesity-related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes. Foods high in free sugars tend to be more devoid of nutrition, and combined with the lack of fibre, are associated with hyper palatability and an increased food consumption.
3. Fibre Intake: Even Lower Than Previous Estimations
Fibre is vital for gut health, yet most people don’t get enough:
- Adults average 16.6g per day (recommended: 30g), significantly lower than the previous estimation of approximately 18g per day.
- Children (11-18) get just 15.4g, which is far below the recommendation of 25-30g for their age range.
Problem: Low fibre intake is not only associated with digestive issues such as constipation, diarrhoea and reflux, but also is associated with a significantly increased risk of health conditions. Bowel cancers (and other cancers), cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, cognitive impairments amongst many, many others are associated with a poor fibre intake due to the impacts on the gut microbiome and the amount of short chain fatty acids being produced.
4. Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies: Key Gaps
Several nutrient shortfalls were identified:
- Vitamin D: 15% of adults had low levels in winter (rising to 38% in some groups).
- Iodine: A significant proportion of women of childbearing age had insufficient iodine concentrations in their urine, suggesting deficiency.
- Selenium, magnesium, and potassium were also low in many diets.
Problem: Vitamin D status is often low in the UK population across winter, which can have impacts on bone health in the future, alongside impacts on hormones produced and other factors. Iodine is required for the healthy brain development of a fetus in-utero, and thus, low iodine intakes in women of childbearing age often means that childrens brains may not develop as well as they should, which can impact IQ.
5. Obesity and Calorie Intake: A Growing Crisis
Obesity trends remain alarming:
- 74% of adult men and 63% of adult women are overweight or obese, with no significant decline.
- Interestingly, reported calorie intakes would not reflect this, with an average reported calorie consumption of 1,883kcals/day for adult men and 1,491kcals/day for adult women.
Urgent action needed: Policies targeting food marketing, pricing, and education need to change. We are seeing significant increases in obesity, and this isn’t correlated with an increased nutritional status, but a worse one. This suggests the obesity is from consuming too many low nutrition, high calorie foods. Equally, this highlights one of the drawbacks of the NDNS- because the data is self-reported, it may not be very accurate.
6. Socioeconomic Disparities in Diet Quality
- Lower-income households eat fewer fruits, vegetables, and fish.
- Children in deprived areas consume more sugar and processed foods.
Inequality issue: Affordability and access to healthy food must improve, and not only the price of healthy foods, but price of energy needed to store and cook these foods needs to be addressed. With over 1 million homes in the UK not having a working fridge or freezer or oven or hob, this is a problem which has many issues which needs to be addressed.
What Needs to Change?
The NDNS highlights three key areas for action:
- Policy: Tougher restrictions on food advertisements and sugar reduction targets, alongside more legislation on foods which are higher in energy.
- Access: Subsidies or schemes to make fresh produce affordable, alongside schemes to help with electricity costs for individuals who are in lower income brackets.
- Education: Clearer messaging on fibre, vitamins, and balanced diets, alongside awareness campaigns on HFSS foods.
Final Thoughts
While there are small improvements (like reduced sugary drink intake), the UK’s diet still lacks balance, with too much sugar, too little fibre, and persistent nutrient gaps. Addressing these issues requires government, industry, and public effort.
What do you think? Are these findings surprising? Share your views below!
*Sources: UK Government NDNS Report 2019-2023, Public Health England*
Diets Debunked 